Joint Resolution
San Mateo County Board of Education and
San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools State of California
Endorsing September 2015 as Attendance Awareness Month
Whereas, the San Mateo County Board of Education and the San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools value and recognize positive school attendance as a critical element for student success; and
Whereas, good school attendance is essential to pupil achievement and graduation, and systemic approaches are needed to reduce chronic absenteeism rates in California, with a focus starting as early as kindergarten; and
Whereas, chronic absenteeism, defined as a student missing ten percent of the school year or about 18 days a year, is one of the strongest indicators of future dropout; and
Whereas, nationwide, one out of every ten students in kindergarten and first grade are chronically absent; and
Whereas, chronic absenteeism in kindergarten predicts low academic achievement in later grades with research demonstrating that students chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade; and
Whereas, 75 percent of students who are chronically absent in sixth grade will drop out of high school; and
Whereas, chronic absence is often overlooked because many schools only monitor average daily attendance and truancy rates, both of which can easily mask chronic absence; and
Whereas, California enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which encourages school districts to track and establish goals and specific actions for reducing chronic absence; and
Whereas, increasing school attendance requires community-wide involvement and begins with an awareness of the cumulative negative effects of chronic absence on academic and social success;
Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved that the San Mateo County Board of Education and the County Superintendent of Schools hereby declare the month of September 2015 as Attendance Awareness Month and support activities to increase awareness of the importance of daily attendance, especially in the early grades PreK-3.
SAN MATEO COUNTY SAN MATEO COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION
President